The Fancy Fritter

I have the most talented cousin in the world, Stacy. Stacy is my younger cousin and she can make the cutest baby clothes, bibs, burp clothes, etc. Here is a preview of some of the stuff from her Etsy shop (note the precious model, her little one and my little cousin, the Fritter)

I've seen some of the precious pillowcase dresses and they are to die for...I can't wait to have a baby and let Stacy pretty her up (I guess if it's a boy, we can boy him up? maybe).

Anywoo, please check her out: Gracious Creations, her Etsy store. And the Fancy Fritter, her blog where she will sometimes feature some of her best stuff.

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Showers

Today at Kelly's Korner is Show Us Your Life Friday - Wedding Showers. This is perfect for me since Sasaparilla and I just threw a shower last weekend for his best friend. We threw the tool and garden shower, but it was open to all, not just the guys. I am very proud of myself in my decorating abilities

We went with the typical theme of tools, so I decided to take my step ladder and put it on the table. It made the perfect serving piece - it replace my smaller, wrought iron , stacked serving piece. We put all the fixings for the chili on it - cheese, sour cream, and Fritos.


Here is the remainder of my table scape. I took an existing arrangement and added nails, washers, and bolts to the bottom of the apothecary jar. Then I filled in the arrangement with the tools from my husbands tool set. Finally, I took the tool box and arranged it askew on the table and put the arrangement on top of it. There you go!

As for the food, we decided to serve three kinds of chili with all the fixings. It was a guy themed party so we wanted to keep with that. The ladies enjoyed it all just as much as the guys. I'll post the chili we made on the Recipe section soon. Then, my sis in law and I split dessert duty. She made these lovely vanilla cupcakes. She made these for us on the day we were engaged and they are delicious. Note the sweet little silver rings in the frosting. Then I made Southern Living's Chocolate Bread Pudding. Sorry no pic but it was awesome! I'll be posting that recipe soon as well.

Finally, we bought them a wheelbarrow. So we put it next to where they were going to sit to open their gifts and put all the gifts in it. We did not get a pic but it looked great and everyone loved it.

Well, that was our Tool and Garden Chili Shower and we had a blast, hope you enjoyed!

The New Look

Look at my new blog! Isn't it pretty? I'm so excited! A few weeks ago I won a blog redesign by

She was awesome! She worked with me so patiently even though I kept changing my mind and asking silly questions. But the result is awesome I think. I really wanted her to incorporate Fleur de lis because it represents two big parts of me: My french heritage and the Trinity/Cross. I also love my rotating header. 5 pics and 5 scriptures will rotate, so each time you come to the site you will get a new one. Sweet!

You will also notice my top bar options. Let me explain them a little. Love Story is the story of how my husband and I met, and met, and met and then finally fell in love. Recipes is my recipe blog. I will be posting my recipes, but I'd love to have some guest bloggers post their own. So please go to the Contact section, email me with the subject as GrumpyPants' Recipes. You can put your post right in the email and I will post it for you on my page. I really want this to work because I know that myself and my girlfriends are always looking for recipes. I think the other sections are pretty self explanatory.

Go check out Simply Delightful Designs! She is incredibly creative, great and easy to work with, and has awesome prices.

Thanks Simply Delightful Designs!

To Bang or Not to Bang

So I decided I needed to get a haircut. Nothing drastic just a little style. About a year ago I went for it and cut my hair into a short bob (see photo below).

This is my 2008 Birthday and yes, my mother in law gave me that book. I love her sense of humor.

I had about a million "That is such a cute haircut, who did that?" comments after the cut. I loved it, but it took some work every morning. And I could never pull it into a french twist or pony tail on those mornings I just didn't want to mess with it. So I grew it out.

Once grown out I had this mop of hair that just hung in my face (see before pic below).

So I thought I'd go just about an inch shorter and put on some bangs (see after pic, along with extra chin).

What was I thinking? I asked Don what he thought and after some Umm's and Well's, he told me he liked it better before. He said, I look like a thirty year old with the bangs, but I didn't before. Thanks Sasparilla (that's his blog name - SasparillaSasquatch - check it out as soon as he actually posts, encourage him to post, he's terribly loquacious). It's not his fault, I asked. So now, it's back to the growing out. But what do I do about the flopping in the face? I hate it. I usually end up with my hair tucked behind my ears at the end of the day. It doesn't make for a professional or managerial look. I end up looking like the teenage intern. Talk about getting some respect.

So tell me about your hair disasters, even post some pics (hey I showed you mine, now show me yours). I'm gonna try the Mr. McLinky thing I'm seeing on everyone else's blog. And since I love all 9 of you, but you're 9, tell a friend. If you tell a friend and you tell a friend and you tell a friend...you get the point. Let's laugh about our hair mistakes together (and make Grumpy Pants feel better, that's the real point). Anyway, there ya go. My hair. At lease I can pull it into a twist and it looks good.

Trust In...

I just finished reading a great trilogy of books by Linda Lee Chaiken, The East of the Sun trilogy (check it out of your church's library or your local library or buy it at Lifeway). The books follow a young woman, Evy, through her life and as she falls in love and marries Rogan, in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The focus of their relationship is Evy learning to put her trust in God as well as her husband. That struck a chord with me. I love my husband more than words can express. He is the most loving, sacrificing, and humble man of God and I thank God for him everyday. But, I'd have to say that trust has been an issue with us. Don't get me wrong, we're very happy - I think this is why they say marriage is the ultimate Refiners fire. In marriage, you are forced to face all the good and bad things about yourself, but hopefully, with a loving partner who is willing to go on that journey with you. Don has been so wonderful through this process.

Anywoo, I was single for 28 years before I was married. In the South that is apparently considered OLD MAID territory. Whatever, I wasn't ready to be married until then, so there.(that's a little shout out to all my single ladies who think that just because they are 20 something and not married they are losers. NO MA'AM! God will bring your man about at His appointed time and it is wonderful when He does - so don't rush things. Enjoy your singledom, God has a purpose in it, seek it out). Ok I'm done with my little side note.

So, like I said, I was 28 when I was married. Plus, I came from a single mom family, so I was used to being very independent and not having a man around. This has led me to make some rooky wifey mistakes. Such as questioning my husband on every decision he makes. Why? Why did we turn this way, I go that way? Why? Why? Why? Ummm, I can see how that can be quite annoying, but at the time I feel like I'm entitled to know everything. Instead of just trusting my husband and his ability to make decisions for us.

Evy and Rogan faced this on a much more dramatic scale. The scene that really spoke to my heart was when Evy and Rogan's ship (this takes place in 1900) docked in Tarshish. Rogan was in a hurry to get them passage on another ship and told Evy not to go into town. Evy decided she was going anyway - despite her husbands wishes. She didn't think that he might have a good reason for not wanting her to leave. No, she just thought he was being mean and she deserved to get off the ship. Well, let's just say, Rogan swooped in just in time to save her from a desperate situation. If she'd just listened to him and trusted that he knew what he was talking about and that he had her best interest at heart, she never would have been in danger nor done damage to their relationship.

As I read this, I finally became fully aware of how I have hurt my husband by not trusting in him. When he brings this up I usually say I deserve to ask questions and know what's going on. I did not realize until recently that I am in essence questioning him and his abilities as a husband. I had no idea because I was only looking at it from my perspective. I am sooooo sorry Sasparilla, I love you and even though I know I won't be perfect, I will trust you and have trusted you always. I just have not done a very good job at showing that.

I started to think about all our pre marital counseling. We were told marriage represents man's relationship with God. Wow! Did I screw up or what? Not only did I tell my husband I didn't trust myself with him, I told God I didn't trust him with me. I never realized how arrogant I could be. But again, that's part of marriage, God revealing our little issues and helping us deal with them with a loving partner.

I'm not trying to say we as wives shouldn't ever question our husbands, just check your motives. Am I asking because I just want to know or understand? Or am I asking so I can make sure I get my way? Quite humbling.

Let me leave you with a few verses God brought to mind today.

I trust in God. I praise his word.
I trust in God. I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
Psalm 56:4 (NIRV)

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

Have a great day and be encouraged - no wife is perfect (neither is a husband) - hold each other up and encourage each other in your journey through life - do not persecute each other, but love unconditionally.

The Prayer Life

This is hilarious and so, so, so, so true. Wow, let's laugh at our humaness.

Weight Watchers on Hold

As you read in Thyroid and Antidepressants, I have a slight thyroid problem. It's being treated, but my doc told me I'd gain some weight until we got my levels correct. Great! I'd just lost two pounds on the Weight Watchers and she tells me I'm gonna gain it back, plus more. So I put Weight Watchers on hold. Oh and to top it off, she said I could not work out until she gave me the ok. Dang It! I mean talk about no control!

I'm not happy, I'm getting fat, and I can do absolutely nothing about it. I got a new haircut (which I will post as soon as I can get the pics from the husband's camera). Don took pics of before and after for me. I just about cried when he showed me those pics. I made a mistake because the new do emphasizes my roundness. Notably the double chin I'm developing.

Did I mention I am not happy? I'm not a vain person ya'll. But I'm just as concerned with my appearance as the next girl. It doesn't help that I used to be a size 1/2. I know, start groaning. That's usually what most people do. But I was. And when I was training for Miss LA, my trainers tried to make me gain weight. Unsuccessfully, I may add. I was the contestant who ate the Johnny's Pizza the night we had swimsuit competition. And all the girls hated me. But now, I look like a bloated pageant queen, instead of toned and beautiful swimsuit contestant. It's not fun. My arms swing in the wind now. OMG! And did I mention I have not had children yet?

The doc visit is on Sept 3rd, so hopefully I can resume the working out and the Weight Watchers. I will, of course, keep you posted and let you know my progress (and include some whining because I am Grumpy Pants after all).

Good day!